Partner Dance
by Galadriadhar
Summary: In a partner dance, the girl has to trust the guy to lead her correctly. And the guy has to trust the girl to follow his guidance. Both have to trust each other implicitly.


Sounds of sighing woke Link from dreams of Zelda being sealed in crystal. He had been running toward her when Ghirahim appeared, laughing. The demon had corrupted the crystal, trapping Zelda in darkness. Link was rather grateful to be awake.

Still… sighing was rather strange. He knew that no one had entered his room during the night. No one shared his room with him. The only one who could be sighing would be…

Link looked around his room and saw Fi sitting on the floor, head in her hands. He started slightly at the sight of hands. He hadn't even known that she had hands.

She sighed again, and Link saw moonlight reflect off of something on her face. His heart began to ache. Fi was crying.

He got quietly off of his bed and sat down next to her. "What's the matter?"

Fi gasped and shot to her feet. Link looked up at her as she mechanically wiped her face. "Nothing is wrong, Master. Are you no longer tired? There's a 90% chance that you will be better able to face Ghirahim if you get nine hours of sleep."

Link chuckled. "You and your percentages, Fi. No, I'm still tired. But something's wrong with you. What is it?"

She looked away, an action quite unlike her usual self. "Nothing…" That wasn't quite like her normal self, either. "There is nothing to worry about, Master." Her statement was interrupted by a sigh, and she slowly sank to the carpet. "Do not worry about me, Master…"

"Come on, Fi. I'm not stupid."

"I never said such a thing, Master. I simply said that you do not need to worry about me."

Link smirked. "When someone says that, Fi, it means that something's wrong. I _do_ know things other than how to sass people. What's going on?"

Fi sniffed. Link didn't even know that she could use her nose like that. She turned her head so that she was looking at him. "Master… I am confused."

"It happens to the best of us," Link replied before catching himself. "Sorry about that. I forgot I was being sympathetic. Go on." He wasn't sure, but he thought that maybe Fi had smiled. Just a little bit. Maybe.

"Ghirahim confuses me. He says that he is a Demon Lord, but…" Fi fell silent for a moment, then continued. "Eons ago, many swords were created. Each sword was bestowed with a messenger spirit. I was one of those spirits. Each spirit knows other spirits when they meet."

Link raised an eyebrow. "So Ghirahim's a sword?"

"That would be a simple explanation, Master. But yes, he is one of the messenger spirits."

"That's really…" Link shuddered, turning to look out the window. "All right, that's all kinds of creepy."

Fi nodded absently, almost mechanically. "It is indeed strange. The sword that Ghirahim was the messenger for should have been a force of light. But he is working to bring back the Demon King. If Ghirahim, a messenger spirit of good, could have been corrupted… can anything stay good?"

Link shrugged. "Good question. Are you still good?"

"I cannot answer that, Master. I am not capable of self-reflection," Fi said matter-of-factly.

"I beg to differ. Your whole question was self-reflection. If you're not capable of self-reflection, then I can't be sassy." Link shrugged again. "But I'll answer that question for you. You're still very good. Even with all the evil that we've seen, all the darkness we've fought, you haven't faltered. I think the answer is 'yes.'"

"But what if I fall?" Fi whispered. Link glanced at her. She was curled up, holding her knees close to her chest. Intermittent tears were welling up and leaving trails down her face.

 _It's amazing, really_ , Link thought. _She's grown more alive than I thought possible_.

"I don't want to fall, Master…" A sob broke through Fi's words and she unconsciously grasped Link's hand. Link's smirk softened into a half-smile.

"Fi?"

"Yes, Master?"

"Look at me." Fi obeyed, looking up at Link. He smiled. "You won't fall. Trust me."

"But-"

"No 'buts,' Fi," Link interrupted. "I probably haven't helped matters by sassing you, along with everyone else. But you _will not fall_. I've never met someone so dedicated to the light, aside from Zelda."

"Master, you may say that, but it doesn't mean it's true," Fi said quietly. "I calculate a 70% chance that you're just telling me that to make me feel better."

"Do you know what I calculate?" Link asked. "A 100% chance that you need some encouragement." He pushed himself to his feet, then held out his hand. Fi examined it.

"Your hand is not dirty, Master. I do not need to clean it."

Link rolled his eyes and grasped Fi's hand in his outstretched one. "You were supposed to take my hand, Fi. No matter."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disappoint you."

Link laughed. "No, don't be sorry! I forgot that you've never danced before."

"What? What is 'danced?' I have not heard that word."

"Well, it's actually 'dance' or 'dancing.' 'Danced' is the past tense of the word. Do you remember when you received the messages from Hylia and you walked on the air and the walls?" Link mentally reminded himself to tone down the sass.

Fi closed her eyes for a moment and then nodded. "Yes," she said, opening her eyes. "I do remember that."

"That's what dancing is. I was surprised when I saw you dancing on the air, but that's a small thing. The point is that you've never danced knowingly. And you've never danced with a partner."

Link took one of Fi's hands and held it as she watched curiously. He noticed, with satisfaction, that she wasn't crying anymore. He guided her other hand to rest on his shoulder before letting his other hand rest on her waist. _Or where her waist would be, I guess_.

"Master? What are you doing?"

"I'm going to show you something, Fi. And my name is 'Link.'" With those words, Link began to take Fi around the room in a slow, swaying dance. She resisted for a moment, but quickly allowed herself to be guided by his strong hands.

There was no music. Link knew that. But he could remember some music, and Fi didn't need to know that dancing usually required music. Not yet, at least. He had to show her something, and what he had to show her didn't necessitate her knowing _everything_ about dancing.

As Link continued to guide Fi around the room, Fi felt… something. Her anxiety was slowly draining away and being replaced by a feeling she didn't recognize.

"Fi, in a partner dance, the girl has to trust the guy to lead her correctly," Link said. "And the guy has to trust the girl to follow his guidance. Both have to trust each other implicitly."

That's what Fi was feeling. Trust. She finally realized what Link was trying to teach her.

"I want you to trust me, Fi. I'll admit that I haven't trusted you as much as I ought to." Link grinned sheepishly. "Please forgive me for that."

"Of course, Mas… Link. I'll forgive you. Will you… forgive… me? For not trusting you?" Fi asked. This felt strange and foreign, and yet… it was familiar, comforting. Almost like a friend's hug.

Link let his head fall back, sighing exaggeratedly. Fi giggled hesitantly, unsure of whether that was something she should do. When Link put his head forward again and winked, she felt better.

"I suppose so. You know," Link said thoughtfully, "I think this marks a turning point in our relationship. I'm trying to not sass you, and you trust me. Doesn't that sound like friendship?"

Fi couldn't keep a small smile off of her face. "From what I know about friendship, Link, you'll sass me anyway."

Link chuckled. "That is true. But you don't deserve that. Really, no one does. I just do it to hide my fears."

"Your fears?"

"My fears that I'll fail…" Link fell silent, and he frowned.

"You won't fail, Link," Fi replied, voice full of confidence.

"How do you know?" Link asked sullenly. "Ghirahim's too strong. I've used seventeen fairies in my battles with him."

"Link, look at me." He looked at Fi, who was smiling. "In partner dancing, the male has to trust the female. You won't fail."

At Fi's words, Link rolled his eyes. There was a smile on his face, though. "I guess you're right. I didn't expect you to turn my words back on me."

"Do you trust me, Link?"

Link looked at Fi, considering. Finally, he nodded. "I do. Will you trust me?"

"Of course, Link. Now that you trust me… there's a 90% chance that you'll be able to fight Ghirahim better if you get enough sleep."

As if on cue, a yawn escaped from Link's mouth. "I guess you're right… friend." He let go of Fi's hand, took his hand off of her waist, and stretched. "Sleep well. Or whatever it is you do. Tomorrow's a big day."

Fi watched as Link hopped into his bed and fell asleep.

"Master… no, not 'Master.' Link. Thank you. You do not know what tomorrow brings, other than the final fight."

She smiled slightly.

"But I'm glad you taught me to trust."

She reached for the Master Sword and, before touching it, paused.

"I'm glad that, before I leave, we could be friends."

Fi touched the Master Sword and disappeared into its depths, leaving her words echoing through the room as Link slept on.


End file.
